Chapter 374: One Mu and Three Fen

mayiwsk

"Bro, here are the blueprints and data for the new-generation product—take a look."

Li Dayong had spent several holidays either at the Fenghua Garment Factory on Hong Kong Island or holed up at the Changbei Machinery Factory in Beijing, developing a solid "practical type" work ethic; he didn't just bring Li Ye good news about the new product, but also brought the technical materials himself.

Li Ye glanced at the blueprints and set them aside, focusing on the technical data—he found significant improvements in power consumption, noise, and vibration levels, and more importantly, the machine now reached eight thousand stitches per minute.

Although ordinary workers typically operated at four thousand five hundred to five thousand stitches per minute, the maximum stitch count reflected the industrial sewing machine's technical level.

The reciprocating mechanism of the sewing machine moves up and down continuously; five thousand cycles per minute versus eight thousand cycles per minute demand entirely different material strength and precision.

When sales representatives pitch to customers, they need these precise figures to emphasize its "international standard."

It's like selling a car—I drive very casually, never pressing the accelerator beyond one-third, and top speed is barely over a hundred kph,

but you can't sell me a car with a top speed of 120 kph and a 0–100 acceleration of over ten seconds—I need at least 180 kph.

As for how fast I actually drive? Do I floor it?

Who cares?

Most people experience varying degrees of dizziness at a 0–100 acceleration of five seconds, but if you give them a car that does it in three seconds, do they even care about dizziness?

Decades later, a new energy vehicle with huge consumer expectations hit the market—everything was great, but its top speed was only 150 km/h—and then market demand collapsed, forcing the company to slash prices drastically just to meet sales targets.

The car's designers were probably pure data nerds who assumed 99 percent of drivers wouldn't exceed 150 km/h, but…

Don't you know every driver has a heart that craves speed and passion?

I may not race, but are you really going to sell me a broken-down cart pulled by an old ox? Who are you trying to fool?

"If these figures are accurate, that's quite impressive,"

Li Ye said after reviewing the data, satisfied: "It still doesn't match the latest products from Japan or South Korea, but it's close to their previous generation—control the cost, and there's huge potential in the mainland market."

"Absolutely no problem, Brother, rest assured—I may love my own child too much to see its flaws, but I won't exaggerate; everything is factual."

Li Dayong immediately patted his chest: "The machine head material for the new product? Our teacher personally called and telegraphed every classmate and friend he knew, finally sourcing it from a special steel plant in eastern Hubei,

then I took the material and blueprints to Hong Kong myself for processing, and I personally measured these figures alongside my teacher—every decimal point is accurate."

"Processed in Hong Kong?"

Li Ye looked at Li Dayong, surprised.

Li Dayong nodded, somewhat helplessly: "Brother, we tested with the Changbei Machinery Factory's machines many times, but the precision errors fluctuated too wildly—we had no choice but to send the core components to Hong Kong for processing."

Li Ye set the materials down and asked sternly: "So what's your plan? Process the core components in Hong Kong and import them for assembly? Or do you want to import advanced processing equipment?"

"You guessed it again," Li Dayong said, sensing Li Ye's displeasure, lowering his voice: "Guo Tian wants to import for assembly; my teacher and I want to import high-precision machine tools."

Li Ye smiled strangely: "Then just make your own decision! You don't hold a formal position at Changbei, but it's your factory—you need to learn to decide for yourself. Whether you lose or gain, it's all part of growing."

Li Dayong grimaced, struggling: "Brother, I don't know how you're so decisive—I find this so hard!

The new product's been developed, but now conflicts have emerged: Guo Tian claims the technology belongs to the Hong Kong side, but if we start production, Factory Director Wang won't be happy—

so which side should I stand on? I have shares in the Hong Kong company, but mainland workers call me a traitor—am I not wronged?"

Li Ye frowned: "Didn't you ask me this before? The R&D responsibility lies with Hong Kong, but Factory Director Wang suggested sharing the R&D costs—that's negotiable,

we're using their space, their workers, making a fortune—giving them a share of the technology and profits is only fair, isn't it?"

When Changbei Machinery Joint Venture was formed, Hong Kong capital had established its own R&D workshop, solely responsible for technical development.

But during the New Year, Li Dayong had told Li Ye that Factory Director Wang wanted to get involved in the R&D—back then, Li Ye had suggested his teacher Cao Zhisheng and Tang Mingtai list the R&D expenses for Wang to review.

Now that the product was developed, Li Ye couldn't just kick them out.

Besides, this technology may seem advanced now, but it'll be outdated in a few years—future R&D investments are still far off! You can't keep letting Hong Kong shoulder all the R&D costs while Wang's side keeps reaping the benefits.

But Li Dayong sighed helplessly: "Brother, I did exactly that—but you wouldn't believe it! After seeing the R&D budget my teacher listed, Factory Director Wang said he'd pay only after product acceptance? So…"

"Heh."

Li Ye couldn't help laughing: "You're wrong, Dayong—I know this trick well."

In his past life, Li Ye thought sales paid better, so he worked as a sales rep for a few days—only to encounter a bizarre boss who refused to reimburse travel expenses until after the sales contract was signed.

On the production line, screwing in bolts might mean just unpaid wages—but out there expanding the market? You might lose your last few thousand yuan!

Seeing Li Ye's half-smile, Li Dayong couldn't tell if his brother was angry.

So he mumbled: "Actually, Brother, today I mainly came to ask my Private Secretary's advice—he's in a similar position to Factory Director Wang, so I thought he could guide me."

"Oh."

Li Ye teased: "So you came here just to see your Private Secretary? Then why waste all this time talking to me?"

Li Dayong laughed too: "Brother, I really prefer talking to you—asking my Private Secretary is like getting scolded. If you give me advice, I won't bother him at all!"

Li Ye thought for a moment and nodded: "This matter—your Private Secretary might actually have useful advice."

Li Zhongfa now runs Qingshuihe Food Company, just like Factory Director Wang runs Changbei Machinery Joint Venture—putting yourself in his shoes is a good approach.

Li Ye called Li Zhongfa over and briefly explained: "Grandpa, here's the situation: Changbei Machinery Joint Venture has a stake owned by Pei Wenhui—it's Pei Wencong's gift to his sister's future dowry, so it's directly tied to Dayong—and now there's a problem…"

Li Ye detailed the situation to Li Zhongfa, who didn't hesitate—he fired off a string of questions.

"How much was the R&D budget? How was it calculated? Did you report and get Wang's signature for every expense? Are there official receipts for all materials used?"

Listening to Li Zhongfa's rapid-fire questions, Li Dayong was completely stunned, while Li Ye chuckled quietly—he'd seen this exact look before, when the finance clerk had effortlessly pinned him down during reimbursement.

"The R&D budget was close to 700, 00 yuan—how it was calculated? I'll have to ask my teacher—but we never reported to Wang or got his signature—he didn't even know the progress of the new product,

and he probably won't approve the bonuses for the technical staff…"

Li Zhongfa paused: "How much were the bonuses?"

Li Dayong, uneasy, replied: "Three people, 15, 00 yuan each, plus a 5, 00-yuan bonus for the workshop workers."

"Forget it," Li Zhongfa waved his hand: "Even just the 15, 00-yuan bonus per person—he won't approve it. How did you spend nearly 700, 00 yuan?!"

Li Dayong, indignant: "Grandpa, we were already frugal—every performance improvement meant countless experiments, and every test cost money!"

"Tsk tsk, tough. Even if he believed you, he wouldn't pay out 700, 00 yuan now—you've finished the work and come asking for payment? What were you thinking?"

Li Zhongfa shook his head repeatedly, saying the technical team had no experience.

Li Ye understood—Changbei Machinery Joint Venture wasn't a dedicated research institute.

To outsiders, many scientific experiments looked like pointless repetition—just to pinpoint one fault, they might waste countless materials chasing dozens of possible causes, with no guarantee of success.

In such cases, pure managers and pure technicians inevitably clashed.

Technicians: "Just give us the money—no nonsense, you wouldn't understand anyway."

Managers: "I may not understand tech, but I understand RMB! Even if you buy a two-fen screw, you better write it down clearly!"

No wonder Old Ren couldn't just boss people around at work! No wonder Lenovo's "tech-trade-trade" model became "trade-tech-tech"?

Harmonizing technology and management isn't something you can explain in a few words—it takes great vision.

Li Ye thought for a moment and asked Li Zhongfa: "Grandpa, what if Dayong arranges for Qingshuihe Food Company and Changbei Machinery to visit each other? Then you could observe Factory Director Wang—what kind of man is he?"

"Oh! You're using your grandpa as a spy now!"

Li Zhongfa laughed heartily, then squinted at Li Ye: "Xiao Ye, what kind of man do you want Factory Director Wang to be?"

Li Ye met Li Zhongfa's gaze calmly: "I want him to be someone unorthodox, not bound by formality, bold enough to innovate and take responsibility for the development of the mainland's machinery industry."

"But…"

Li Ye smiled: "Such people are rare. Most can only see their own one mu and three fen of land, clutching it tightly—planting cabbage in winter, cucumbers in summer,

busy as hell, unaware that beyond their tiny plot lie tens of thousands of acres of untamed land waiting to be cultivated."

Li Zhongfa fell silent for a long time, then nodded: "You're right—this one mu and three fen is too small."

(End of Chapter)